Winter teases in final lap

- Crisp spell brief, expect warmer weekend

PINAKI MAJUMDAR

If you are suddenly going brrr in mid-February, be informed that a breezy winter’s just ribbing you on its way out of Jharkhand.

Dry and crisp westerly winds have dragged down minimum temperatures across the state in the past 24 hours, making the last lap of the season both long and cold, especially in Ranchi and Daltonganj. The weather, which mirrors degree deviations across the country, is expected to fall in place by weekend.

While cold winds from central Asia may be contributing to the dip in temperatures countrywide, a senior IMD scientist in Delhi said the readings were “well within” normal deviations during this time of the year. “We haven’t seen any significant drop except at a few places in northern plains,” said Basab Bandopadhyay, deputy DG (forecasting).

A.K. Sen, the director of Patna Meteorological Centre. said: “The Celsius plunge has been caused by the dominating West Wind. But, the current spell will be brief, say another 24 hours.”

Sen said the climate change during weekend would be the impact of a western disturbance, which is passing through upper latitudes.

“Cloud formation is expected over Ranchi and a few districts that share borders with Bihar around Saturday. The wind pattern will also change to easterly in the next two days,” Sen added.

Statistics made available by the Met department showed that the mercury had dropped in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Daltonganj, Koderma, Deoghar, Latehar, Khunti, West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan since Wednesday.

On Thursday, the minimum in the capital was a cold 9.2°C, three notches below normal. The IMD observatory in Ranchi had recorded 11.5°C on Wednesday. Similarly, the Celsius plunged to 8.9°C from 9.3°C in Daltonganj, the new minimum being four notches below normal.

Steel city Jamshedpur was a tad warmer at 12°C, two notches below normal. On Wednesday, the local weather office had recorded 14.4°C.

Readings dived by two degrees in many districts like Koderma, Deoghar, Hazaribagh and Latehar. Steel city Bokaro and coal capital Dhanbad remained comparatively warmer around 15°C.

Weathermen at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Calcutta said since winter in Jharkhand was approaching its end, the mercury would start rising once the westerly wind subsided. “The breezy weather will calm down from Saturday, when a western disturbance will pass through higher latitudes,” said a duty officer.

He warned that the West Wind might make a comeback again around February 17-18, but for a short while.